A method and apparatus of this type are described in the European patent publication EP 231,520 A of the same applicant. The present invention is a further development of the invention disclosed in the European application. The European publication EP 231,520 A essentially relates to means for the connection of an emerging leading end of the fresh strip which is cooling in the die, these means being connected in a conventional manner with the trailing end of a cold start strip. Although it is stated that the same means for the connection of the new strip may also be used for a case in which two strips are to be connected when the batch is changed in a continuous casting plant for securing the connecting means to the preceding strip, reference is only made to known means. The present invention generally relates to the design of the connecting means for securing to the trailing end of the preceding cast strip within the die and to significant improvements for the connection of the fresh or new cast strip.
Conventional means for the connection of the preceding cast strip, which is so halted that its trailing end, which is still hot, is still within the die, are generally in the form of a solid connecting anchor, as for example one in the form of an elongated rod with a quadrilateral (herein referred to as square) section, having an anchoring member, in an end portion, inserted in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rod. For connection, the square rod is pressed in a downward direction into the trailing end of the halted strip which is still hot so that after further cooling, a positive connection is produced between the anchoring member and the strip.
Depending on the particular size of cross section of the strip, such solid anchoring members are difficult to handle and position because of their considerable weight and, because they are not reusable, they make for a considerable increase in costs. Furthermore, frequently there are problems with this type of connection since the material of the preceding cast strip is often cooled down to such an extent that it is no longer possible to press one end of the connecting anchor, with its transversely placed anchoring member, into the trailing end of the strip located in the die. On the other hand, this prior art anchor always requires a certain minimum size, since it would otherwise be completely melted by the hot metal of the cast strip so that the handling and positioning problems may not be obviated by reducing the dimensions of the anchor.